Many thanks to John for his help with some thorny style-sheet-related issues with FightingBob.com. Some good stuff over at that site – please take a look if you have any interest in progressive politics. I’m especially happy that I convinced them to include a weblog as part of the site.

Some gorgeous images over at Emese Gaal’s Photote. Go there now.

Google blindness

There used to be a lot of search engines on the web. Now, it’s pretty much all Google. It’s even a verb – “Google for information on Adam Blust.” Well, after my pro-war nemesis Dave Winer linked to AllTheWeb‘s new redesign, I thought I would take it for a spin with my favorite search term, “words mean things.”

I was glad to see my own site comes up first here too. But there was also a lot of other interesting stuff I hadn’t seen before in my Google fog: a eulogy, a Trent Lott apologist, real estate tips, even a sermon.

Are there any other search engines you use frequently? What’a they got that Google ain’t got?

A few nights ago I dreamed that I once auditioned for the original cast of “Friends.” Then I was at a party with the cast, and they all got out their audition tapes to look at them. Then they brought out mine, and they all made fun of it.

Talk to Her

Did you ever go see a movie, and love it, but wonder if there was anyone you could recommend it to? That’s how I felt about Pedro Almodovar’s brilliant “Talk to Her.” It seemed to plug into a part of my brain that I’m not sure anyone else possesses.

Hollywood wouldn’t have touched this thing with a 10-foot pole, and so much the better for audiences. I shudder to think what a conventional neutered American director would have done with a story about two women in comas and the two men who care for them. Almodovar fashions something that is funny, shocking, puzzling, touching, tough and tender all at the same time. You never know quite where it’s going, but you can’t wait to see where you’ll end up when you get there.

I’m not much for writing about plot; I leave that to Roger Ebert, whose reviews seem to be just plot expositions with a minimal amount of criticism thrown on top. But with this movie, I especially don’t want to say anything about what happens. Most of the beauty of this movie is in the evolving relationships, and it’s best to let that unspool on its own.

Recommended? Go see it, and let me know if our brains resemble each other.

Been watching the first season of “Six Feet Under” on DVD and enjoying it immensely. It’s like an Anne Tyler novel come to life. The acting and writing and visual look of it are all outstanding. Plus it’s refreshing to see popular entertainment deal with death and dying, even in SFU’s relatively mild fashion.

Saw Michael C. Hall, who plays gay mortician David Fisher, on Leno last night. He seemed to hold his wedding ring up in front of his face like a shield throughout the interview. Then as he was wrapping up the interview, Leno said, “Nice to meet you. AND NICE TO MEET YOUR WIFE AS WELL.”

As Arthur suggested, I made my feelings known to Q106, the Madison country station with Darryl Worley’s “Have You Forgotten?” now in heavy rotation.

If by chance you also want to tell them what you think, their phone number is 608-321-1063, and their feedback e-mail is mark.grantin@q106.com.

The cost of one bullet

Hey, maybe we can move on to Jacques Chirac next. Those uppity French need to be taken down a peg or two.

Here we go again

“Have You Forgotten?”
-by Darryl Worley

I hear people saying we don’t need this war
I say there’s some things worth fighting for
What about our freedom and this piece of ground
We didn’t get to keep ’em by backing down
They say we don’t realize the mess we’re getting in
Before you start your preaching let me ask you this my friend

Have you forgotten all the people killed?
Some went down like heroes in that Pennsylvania field
Have you forgotten about our Pentagon?
All the loved ones that we lost and those left to carry on
Don’t you tell me not to worry about bin Laden
Have you forgotten?

It’s official: I fucking give up.

At John’s urging, I’ve added a new little feature to the comments here. When you’re making a comment, there’s now a checkbox at the bottom that says “notify me when a comment is added to this post.” What that does is e-mail you in the future when comments are added, so you can “subscribe” to discussions you’re interested in following. I think it works, but try it out and see.